700th Birthday of Saint Sergius

Neil MacFarquhar, From Pilgrims, Putin Seeks Political Profit; President casts himself as defender of values as Russians hail unifying saint. New York Times, Aug 3, 2014www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/world ... litical-profit.html
(“The Russian Orthodox Church was resurrected after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union * * * Although 80 percent of the 140 million Russians identify themselves as Russian Orthodox culturally, the number who actually attend church is tiny. The church says it is nearly 10 percent, but experts say it has long hovered around 3 percent”)

Excerpt in the window of print: Some cry foul over efforts to reshape a saint’s legacy.

Note:
(a) "SERGIYEV POSAD, Russia — * * * The official reason for the trek to the Trinity Lavra of St Sergius, the seat of the Russian Orthodox faith and the country’s original monastery, was to commemorate the 700th birthday of its founder and namesake."
(i) Sergiyev Posad
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergiyev_Posad
(Some posads developed into towns, such as * * * Sergiev Posad)
(It [town] grew in the 15th century around one of the greatest of Russian monasteries, the Trinity Lavra [qv] established by St Sergius of Radonezh [qv]; The town's name allud[es] to St Sergius)

This laura is pronounced the same as female given name “Laura.”
(iii) Sergius of Radonezh
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergius_of_Radonezh
(1314-1392; was originally baptized with the name Bartholomew; When the Principality of Rostov fell into the hands of the Prince Ivan Danilovich of Grand Duchy of Moscow, his parents Kirill and Maria became impoverished and moved to Radonezh; "build a small cell and a church dedicated in honor of the Trinity. Thus started the history of the great Trinity-St Sergius Lavra"/ took monastic vows, taking the name Sergius)
(A) Sergey
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey
(Russian form [of] Latin (servi Dei) "God`s servant")
(B) Sergius is Latin spelling.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergius

(b) "The birth of the Russian Orthodox faith dates back to Vladimir the Great, grand prince of Kiev, and the mass baptisms performed at his behest there in 988, bringing Christianity to what then became Holy Rus. * * * Because those roots — not to mention the relics of St Vladimir himself — are in the territory of an estranged neighbor, Russia appears to be casting St Sergius as his replacement, [American author in Moscow Geraldine] Fagan said."
(i) Vladimir the Great
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_the_Great
(c 958 – 1015)
(ii) Russian Orthodox Church
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church
(section 1 History: traditionally said to have been founded by the Apostle Andrew [in Christ's time]; in 988 "Vladimir the Great made Kievan Rus' a Christian state [that is, he made the] religion of the Eastern Roman Empire — as the state religion of Kievan Rus'. This date is often considered the official birthday of the Russian Orthodox Church")

(c) Patriarch Kirill I himself led the 10-mile procession that started the commemoration, beginning from the monastery at Khotkovo, where the saint’s parents are buried, to the St. Sergius monastery.“

Kirill
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirill
(Greek kyrios "lord;" There are many variant forms of the name: [among others] Cyril [where the "c" is pronounced "s," same as Sam]; Persons named Kirill include: Kirill I of Moscow, the current Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia)